The Confederacy of Zero
by Noel C. Coltrane
Summary: Louise de la Valliere is nothing but a failure when it comes to magic. But on the day of the summoning ritual, she manages to summon possibly the most powerful being of the universe. Will she be able to keep her cool and deal with it, or will she become a crazed master of an even crazier Confederate Rebel? Rated M. OCxLouise as Siblings, OCxKarin
1. Chapter 1

Copyright Disclaimer.

Zero No Tsukaima belong's to it's respective owner/owners. The Union Loyalist and the Confederate Rebel are my OC's.

Now, on wards into the story.

* * *

It was a bright morning over the Tristain Academy of Magic, the sun making its way slowly across the mostly cloudless sky, indifferent to the mages and commoners bustling about below. Likewise, those in the academy were too engrossed with their business to care about something as mundane as a clear sunny day, save maybe for some words of discomfort from those who were susceptible to the heat or were a little conscious of their skin complexion. Among the former was a group of second year students gathered in one of the courtyards, for they felt nothing but excitement thanks to the cherished and sacred rite known as the Springtime Familiar Summoning.

Well, all of them save one.

A pink-haired girl fidgeted as she watched her classmates summon their familiars one after the other, becoming increasingly pensive at each success. Her stomach churned as she found herself backing away farther and farther, dimly aware that she was now practically hiding behind the crowd of her classmates. At this rate, she would be the last one called upon to perform the ritual, which both gave her sense of relief and worsened her anxiety at the same time. One the one hand, she wanted to get this over and done with. On the other . . . well, there were only two ways this could possibly end: success or failure. By now she was intimately acquainted with the latter, and the all-too-likely prospect of it happening for this particularly important ritual terrified her to no end.

Involuntarily she started to grind her teeth, recalling her previous attempts at performing magic. No matter what she tried and how much she had studied, all of her spells always ended in disappointment. As if the shame of that wasn't enough, they had to be spectacular disappointments as well. Regardless of the spell, the element, or the willpower she put behind it, all she ever got were explosions with the only variety being how large and how loud the explosions were.

She desperately wanted to succeed at actually summoning something—anything—to prove that she was worthy of the nobility she had been born into, especially provided her illustrious lineage. She was Louise Françoise le Blanc de La Vallière, third daughter of the House of La Vallière, one of the most powerful and influential noble houses in all of Tristain. It had seemed a cruel and spiteful joke at her expense for one such as her to be so terrible at magic.

And you would know of cruel, spiteful jokes, wouldn't you, Louise the Zero? After all, what else does a so-called noble who can't perform even the simplest magic deserve other than scorn and contempt? a traitorous voice in her head jeered.

"You've summoned an impressive familiar, Ms. Zerbst," said Professor Colbert, snapping her out of her rumination. "I don't believe I've ever seen such a fine fire salamander."

"Expect nothing less from a Zerbst, Mr. Colbert," a buxom dark-skinned redhead preened, showing off her new familiar to the appreciation of the students around her.

Of course, Louise mentally spat, her face setting into a grimace as she regarded one of her longtime tormentors. It would have to be Kirche that would come right before me, and she just had to summon a fire salamander.

She drew back into the crowd of her classmates. Maybe if she was quiet and lucky Professor Colbert and everyone else would forget all about—

"Well, is that everyone?" Mr. Colbert asked, raising his voice over the din of the crowd.

Louise hissed a most unladylike curse under her breath.

"No, Mr. Colbert," Kirche said loudly, mischief in her voice. "There's still dear little Ms. Vallière."

The emphasis on the little didn't go over Louise's head.

Damn you, Zerbst, she thought as she threw a baleful look at the tall Germanian girl. Damn you and your oversized height and your oversized breasts and your oversized lizard!

As one, her classmates turned to stare at her as she trudged slowly toward Mr. Colbert. After all, there was nothing like a potential spectacle to draw in a crowd. Her lips thinned into a line.

"It's Louise the Zero," someone whispered not-quite-loudly.

"Wonder what she's going to end up summoning," someone else voiced out.

"There's no way she'll summon anything. An explosion, that's all we'll get to see. That's all we ever get to see," a third voice, a female one this time, added helpfully.

The line of her lips thinned even more as everyone else began to shuffle backward, the memory of her explosive fiascos clear in their minds.

Kirche smiled at her, giving a theatrical pat to her salamander. "Given the impressive reputation of the La Vallière, I'm sure we can expect a most impressive familiar. Right, Louise?"

"Of course," Louise snorted, puffing her cheeks defiantly.

Her grip on her wand tightened. Please. Oh, Dear Founder, please . . .

"To my servant, wherever you may be . . ." she began, to the incredulity of her classmates

"Just what kind of spell is that? Is she . . . personalizing it?" a girl with her long blond hair done in curls demanded, her eye twitching.

"Now, now, at least it has some originality," said a flamboyantly attired blond boy beside her.

"To my sacred, beautiful, and above all, powerful familiar," Louise continued, pointedly ignoring everyone else, "I appeal to you from the bottom of my heart, heed my guidance and answer my call!"

Some of her classmates were already ducking as she waved her wand overhead. A blue-haired girl quietly peeked over the top of the book she had been reading before bringing it up over her face again, this time as an impromptu shield. Many of them hit the deck, hands protectively over their ears or clutching their familiars, as Louise brought down her wand.

The world exploded.

* * *

Coltrane looked out across the battlefield. Small fires dotted the landscape along with ruined tanks and other armored vehicles, but the actual body count was beyond belief. Six hundred and fifty-eight thousand Union soldiers had been slain in this battle, and it would not go unforgotten. The Battle of Bryant Hill would go down as one of the bloodiest battles ever fought on US soil. As Coltrane strode across the field, a small glimmer over the large hill caught his attention. He drew his Vindicator, which was a supposed "holy sword", given as a gift from Lee for his service as the Confederate Rebel. The rune on his left hand lit up, and his one good eye turned it'self back to the rebel flag. Coltrane looked upon the crest of the hill, and saw it.

The Union Loyalist.

Not only was the loyalist someone he despised with all he had, but the loyalist was also the rebel's sworn enemy. Lee had explained to Coltrane that whichever country, the USA or the CSA, thrived, depended on whoever dominated the field in this rivalry. The loyalist ran down the hill, stopping short of Coltrane, to which Coltrane took notice of the somewhat-lethal looking sword. Lee spoke up unexpectedly.

Oh shit. I've seen that sword before. You better be careful Coltrane, because even with your immortality, that sword will still kill you. I can tell that just by looking at it. Coltrane pondered on the thought. So what do I do? 'Cause I know the loyalist can be killed cause he ain't got the immortality I got, but this dude does have some speed and agility to him. Lee could not think of what to tell Coltrane.

On one hand, should Coltrane score a lucky hit, and manage to stumble the loyalist, he would be able to simply finish him off and destroy the sword while he still had a chance. On the other hand, the loyalist was faster and more agile than Coltrane ever was. One swift movement and it could spell the end for Coltrane at the loyalist's hands. Overall, it was a balancing act, and Lee could not figure out how to balance it to save his self.

His thoughts were interrupted by the clashing of steel, and gunshots. The Rebel and the Loyalist were going into their battle once again. Swords clashed, the sound of clanging steel rang through the air. Fists struck their targets, and kicks were delivered. Overall, it was a pretty intense fight for both of the warriors, with sparks, and bursts of their powers' flying off of them. Eventually, Coltrane stumbled, and was hit on the head by the loyalist. That is when the loyalist got the idea of taunting Coltrane about his past; About what happened to his father, how his little sister vanished, and even went as far as to bring up the failed 'relationship' with the woman that Coltrane killed in his own rage.

Before he even knew what was happening, a powerful kick was delivered unto him to his jaw, causing to him to fall, disoriented. When the loyalist was back up again, he was met with an unnerving sight. Coltrane stood, angrier than he had ever seen; M60 in his left hand, and curved dual-edged axe in his right gauntlet. There was a very dark aura surrounding Coltrane. This caused the loyalist to hesitate slightly, but he charged forward nevertheless.

The fight continued, even more devastating than before, as the loyalist summoned a machine pistol and ended up shooting Coltrane multiple times. And soon, it ended after Coltrane was thrown down onto the ground on his back. The loyalist stood victorious over Coltrane, who now had wounds all over, and was slowly starting to pass.

"Well, I finally got you where I want you, you miserable piece of shit" the loyalist said. "I have spent many years training to kill you, and now I finally have my chance to do so." The loyalist tossed the sword up, and caught it like a dagger. "I'll see you in hell, Coltrane", he said as he raised the sword. Not as soon as he said that, an eerie green glow surrounded them. The loyalist became distracted by it, and turned around to see a green portal hovering behind him. But be decided it was not a threat, and by the time he had turned to finish Coltrane, it was too late for him.

"I'll send you back to the void from whence you came MOTHERFUCKER!" Coltrane had gotten back up on his feet, and managed to spartan kick the loyalist into the portal, making him and the portal disappear. Coltrane sighed in relief, and then fell backwards, onto the ground, with unconsciousness overtaking him. And soon, another green portal opened up, puling the passed-out Coltrane down into the portal, and it disappeared as well.

* * *

Louise heard several students hacking and coughing at the smoke from her attempt at summoning. She put her own hands over her mouth, desperately trying not to cough herself from the dirty clouds that had been raised by her explosion. She opened her eyes slowly, pointedly ignoring the several cries of "I knew it, I knew this would happen!"

Her cheeks burned with embarrassment and rage as the expected mockery and jeering started among her classmates even before the others had stopped coughing. In the backdrop of the laughter and insults, she heard Kirche's distinctive "ohohohoh," causing Louise to bite her lower lip.

"Well, I have to admit, Vallière, that was amazing."

Louise felt herself growing even angrier. She rounded on Kirche to deliver an angry retort only to have even more of the lingering dust assault her throat, reducing her into a hacking mess. Her face grew bright red from the shame, anger, and lack of oxygen even as the laughter and name-calling intensified around her.

"Way to go, Louise the Zero!" said a voice in mock congratulations. "I bet that was your biggest explosion yet!"

"They must have heard that all the way in Albion!" cried another amid the delighted cackling.

"Enough!" Professor Colbert's voice cut sternly through the air. "This heckling is no way for noble students to act."

"Oh dear Founder!" a female voice suddenly gasped, interrupting the teacher in the middle of his reprimand. "Vallière k-killed somebody! The Zero finally went and killed somebody!"

At that exclamation Louise's head snapped around in near unison with everyone else's toward the center of the summoning field. Through the lasts wisps of smoke and dust, she could see a small crater, but that wasn't what caught her eye: in the middle was the dark-haired figure of a man, about 32, lying on his back unmoving. On his clothes and armor were dark stains.

Blood.

"V-Vallière . . ." she distantly heard Kirche mutter in shock as her own blood ran cold, "what have you done?"

Gasps of surprise and cries of accusation erupted all around Louise, but she was no longer paying attention to them. She stared transfixed at what she had apparently summoned, mind numb and mouth hanging open in shock, even as Mr. Colbert bolted toward the fallen figure, turning to the nearest two students.

"Guiche, Montmorency," he said urgently to the boy-and-girl pair, "go and call the academy healers. Hurry!"

The two students nodded quickly and, with an exchange of uncertain looks between them, levitated away hurriedly. The rest of the students milled around uncertainly, hovering over the scene in a disorganized semicircle.

'I . . . I did that?' Louise's mentally uttered in sheer disbelief as she continued to stare, noting dimly that her teacher had begun to try and remove the steel armor of the fallen figure to expose the wounds, but to no avail. He quickly started administering one healing spell after another. 'But . . . how? He wasn't . . . I didn't . . . Did he walk into . . . But, no. No! There had been no one . . . But he's . . . Oh, oh Founder. Oh, Dear Founder . . .'

Tears began to stream down her cheeks as her knees buckled, causing her to topple forward and land painfully on her elbows. She continued to stare at what had happ—no, what she had made happen. A groan escaped her lips and quickly degenerated into sobs.

It was over. She hadn't just failed, but her failure had hurt somebody . . . had possibly killed somebody. It didn't matter what had happened or how it had happened, the result was clear for all to see. Louise Françoise, shame of the House of La Vallière, had proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was less than a noble—less than even a commoner. She was nothing but scum and—

She felt a had land lightly on her right shoulder, and she flinched violently. Looking up fearfully, Louise was surprised to see the familiar face of a certain blue-haired classmate. "T-Tabitha?"

"Not dead. Also not your fault," Tabitha stated in her usual taciturn monotone, and Louise could've sworn that it was a bit gentler than her usually cold demeanor. Or she would have had her mind not been trying to make sense of the Gallian girl's words.

"W-wha . . .?" the pink-haired girl managed to choke out.

"Shot," Tabitha pronounced as she pointed, and Louise found her eyes following the girl's finger, "not exploded."

Wiping her eyes, Louise took a closer look at her summon, and she couldn't quite suppress a nauseated churn in her stomach now that she was seeing the man's injuries without the haze of shock and tears. Professor Colbert, looking far more serious than Louise had ever seen him before, was still attending to the wounds and was currently using a water spell to drain blood from a large sucking hole just under the unconscious man's left breast. And unconscious he was; Louise could see the bloodied chest move ever so slightly.

"She's right, Ms. Vallière," the balding bespectacled teacher reassured her even as he cast another spell to arrest the bleeding. "These are clearly injuries sustained from some sort of musket-like weapon, perhaps some sort of flintlock rifle, just before you apparently summoned him here. The armor is nothing like I've seen before. The..uh..things etched into the metal; I'm assuming they're some kind of flag for a country; a uniform of some sort, and I suspect this man is military."

He turned to look at her, and the uncharacteristically serious expression on his face softened. "You must have summoned him just before he was about to be killed."

"I-I did?" Louise gasped, not daring to believe but hoping nonetheless.

"Yes, you might have just saved his life," Colbert added kindly, face showing just the tiny hints of effort at the rapid string of healing spells he had just performed. Then his face hardened again as he began looking around. "I've managed to stem the bleeding and prevent the blood from drowning his punctured lung. The injuries themselves are quite severe, but he appears stable enough and the healers should be arriving soon."

Louise stood up slowly, her spirits finally lifting. "Oh, thank the Founder . . . Thank the gods . . ." she whispered under her breath. She hadn't killed anybody. She hadn't killed anybody!

She felt Tabitha removing the hand on her shoulder, and she found herself suddenly facing the blue-haired girl awkwardly, having just realized what she'd done. They'd never been friends—in fact, Louise usually counted her among her enemies, if only because the Gallian girl was friends with one of her most persistent tormentors, Kirche. On one hand, she'd never seen Tabitha actively joining in the taunting as the quiet girl usually preferred to hang back silently. On the other hand, she also never really seemed to oppose the sometimes utterly vicious teasing, and Louise couldn't quite shake the feeling that the girl was judging her in silence.

Louise opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it again. She bit her lip and her eyes darted from side to side as Tabitha regarded her impassively. She just had no idea what to say to her given their history. She forced herself to open her mouth and look at Tabitha steadily, but at that point the blue-haired mage had already made the decision for her and was now looking at the unconscious form before them.

"A soldier, hm?" Kirche's singsong voice suddenly cut in. "Silly Little Louise, it's the dashing young warrior who saves the hapless noblewoman, not the other way around. Ah, even such a simple thing you apparently can't grasp? Tisk, tisk . . ."

Feeling her anger clawing its way free from the ball of feelings that her disastrous summoning had jumbled, Louise whirled on Kirche, ready to hurl abuse at her old rival. The smile on Kirche's face, however, gave her pause. It wasn't her usual mocking smirk but the kind of smile one would give to a friend to show that a disparaging remark had been meant in friendly jest. The anger stumbled and found itself again swimming in a roiling ball of confusion. This . . . this just wasn't right. Kirche of all people trying to lighten the mood with a friendly joke? They had never, ever been close to acting friendly, not since they had first met and figured out that they both belonged to long-opposed noble houses on opposite sides of a national border. In fact, some of the most hurtful insults she'd endured had come from the very same lips now smiling at her.

Just what in the world was the Germanian redhead playing at?

Apparently seeing the turmoil on her face, Kirche just gave her a theatrical shrug. Then, as if purposely changing the subject, she looked down and regarded the still unconscious figure on the ground.

"Hm . . . then those must be his weapons," Kirche declared. Seeing Louise's continued confusion, Kirche smiled. This time, it was a much more familiar mischievous smile. "Oh, I'm not looking at that weapon, Little Louise. That would be in very poor taste."

It took a second for Louise to process that, and when she did . . . "B-bwuh . . . that's not what I was thinking of, you lecherous deviant!"

Looking down in a huff as Kirche just gave her another infuriating smile, Louise noticed what she had missed in her earlier bout of despair. There was indeed something in both of the man's—soldier's?—hands. In his right hand; Well, it wasn't a hand, per se, it was a full arm metal gauntlet. But, in his right hand, a strange weapon. It had a hatchet-like handle, a block of metal, and then a vicious looking curved blade. In his left, an even stranger weapon. On first glance, it appeared very odd. It was box-like in shape, made of some black-painted material—metal?—with a cylinder jutting out of one end. On the bottom, a grip with a trigger in front. On the side, a belt of brass cylinders with lead tips fed into the side from a green box mounted on the bottom of it. However, the grip seemed too thick to hold comfortably, and Louise wondered how one could properly wield such a heavy and clumsy-looking thing.

"A . . . a musket?" Louise said uncertainly. She'd never been too familiar with firearms as she thought them beneath her notice.

"Too big," Professor Colbert said authoritatively. "The dimensions remind me more of a small canon, and the seeming handles appear rather awkwardly placed. I also see no visible indications of a matchlock, flintlock, or wheel lock mechanism, as well as the stock is way too big. . And these things..." Mr. Colbert examined the belt of brass and lead. 'These are unlike anything I've ever seen. And that gauntlet . . .' He looked over it. 'It's design is unlike anything we have here.'

"You seem to know quite a bit about muskets, Professor," Kirche observed, not quite accusingly, "and you seem to know your way around healing spells."

"I have a great interest in many subjects, Ms. Zerbst, and I've learned some useful things," he answered, smiling nonchalantly. "After all, I teach because I love learning."

Kirche quirked an eyebrow up at that, but dropped the matter with a slight shrug.

The teacher, meanwhile, had a thoughtful expression on his face. Then, looking down, he cast what Louise recognized as a Detect Magic spell. Colbert's expression became puzzled. "Um . . . Ok. Well . . . this is . . interesting . . ."

Louise, still confused and starting to get a bit fidgety, said, "What? What is it?"

"There's magic," he answered, expression growing even more and more quizzical, ". . . of a sort. And it's . . ." He trailed off again. ". . . Here. Think of it this way; saying it's powerful would be an extremely severe understatement.

"Magic? So does that mean"—Louise felt her mouth hit the floor—"I summoned a fighting mage, a noble?"

"Maybe," came the reply, "The magic is absolutely nothing like what we have here, but I can't be completely certain as of now."

She felt her feelings plummeting again. She might have summoned a fellow noble to be her familiar. An icy pit formed in her stomach. No, it wasn't as bad as accidentally killing someone with a misfired spell, but it was an undesirable outcome nonetheless. The political ramifications could be bad enough, especially if she had inadvertently summoned a scion of some powerful or influential house. Worse if the unconscious man was a foreign noble. Oh, her mother was going to kill her . . .

. . . But hadn't Mr. Colbert said that she had saved the boy's life? And she'd yet to complete the contract, so she technically hadn't made a servant of him yet. That had to count to for something, right?

"Powerful? Of a sort?" Tabitha prompted, repeating the words Louise had missed in her panic.

The professor remained silent for a bit, as if considering what to say. He looked at the students around him, all waiting expectantly for an answer. Finally, he opened his mouth, "The spell detected something, but it feels somehow . . . off. Well . . . not really off, but . . . dark. The severity of his injuries and the possible willpower drain couldn't have had something to do with it as the reading seems rather—Ah! Over here, quickly!"

At the abrupt exclamation, the students turned to see a group of academy healers levitating toward them, Guiche and Montmorency in tow. Mr. Colbert and the students backed away to give the healers some room. One laid a stretcher on the ground as another prepared to cast a levitation spell to gently lift the unresponsive and injured form onto it. A third consulted with Mr. Colbert, who quickly filled him in on the healing spells that he had casted. Louise hovered nearby, careful to keep enough of a distance to allow the healers to move unimpeded. Whatever had happened and whoever she'd summoned, he was her responsibility now, so she would stay by his side and wait until she could explain herself to him personally.

Without warning, the one of the healers by the stretcher was thrown back, followed by a strings of loud pops. One of them almost crashed into Louise, causing her to yelp in alarm. Suddenly alert, Mr. Colbert moved, staff at ready, and yelled for everyone to back away. The healer conversing with Mr. Colbert did the same, wand at ready. The healer he had been preparing the spell was dead; multiple bleeding gaps in his body. As for the other healer, well . . . he was impaled by the curved axe, as Mr. Colbert called it. He was being held up in the air by this man which made it look easy. 'What in the name of the dear founder is that?' Mr. Colbert thought. As she backed away, Louise saw Tabitha around the corner of her eyes. The quiet girl's staff was also raised. Beside her was Kirche, grasping her wand with a fearful expression on her face. The man dropped the axe, slowly lifted himself off of the stretcher, grunting a bit and flexing his back and neck, making vicious popping sounds. He pulled his weapon out of the dead healer, turned around, and that is when everyone got a full look at the man, or thing, Louise had summoned.

The figure was tall and brutish looking, and had multiple scars on his face. His long, dark brown-near black hair was tied back, an eye-patch covered his left eye, and he wore a strange looking hat, which appeared like a head wrap with a visor. The beard on his face was thick, and had a dull dark brownish color. The metal gauntlet was connected to a steel chest-plate, which had strange symbols-flags?- etched into the metal. It was strangely colored in a peculiar blackish-blue color and was tightly fitted; in fact, it didn't even seem to have straps, laces or any other type of fastener Louise could see. Under the armor was what appeared to be a white cotton peasant's sleeveless shirt that was sloppily not tucked into a pair of strange and baggy blue cloth pants. Completing the strange garb was a pair of thick, brown leather boots with what looked like metal covering the toe, and chains around the back. What skin she could see appeared to be white, but of a slightly darker shade than anyone else's. Near the top of his left arm, he had something that somewhat resembled some sort of cross: Blue in color, it had strange markings, and in the middle, the same flag that was etched into the metal on the armor. The same flag also covered the entirety of the lower part of the man's left arm.

All in all, Louise would have thought the figure to be some sort of mercenary or assassin in a weird manner of dress, if it wasn't for one particular detail: a large mark burned onto the back of his left hand. It was the very same mark as the etchings on the steel chest-plate, and the tattoo on his left arm. The mark was the same crossed bars and 13 stars. 'Was he someone else's familiar?' Louise wondered. Oh dear Founder, she knew her mother was really going to kill her now. She looked at Colbert, and then her head snapped back to her summoned one when everyone gasped and backed away even more.

The man had hefted the cannon in his left hand up, leveling it out, and it was pointed right at them. And holy hell was he pissed off.

"Let me make this loud and clear so y'all can hear me; What the fuck do you people want from me?"


	2. Chapter 2

Copyright Disclaimer.

Zero No Tsukaima belong's to it's respective owner/owners. The Union Loyalist and the Confederate Rebel are my OC's. Any other trademarks/copyrights belong to their respective owners.

Now, onwards into the story.

* * *

For any normal someone to say that this day was boring, they would be dead wrong. Or at least, that's how Jason L. Coltrane saw it. Right now, he was lounging around in a chair with his feet propped up on the table, resting while thinking about what had happen in the day. He turned his head and watched how Louise slept so peacefully. He felt something, well, rather something felt, so . . . . . _familiar_ about her, or, it just seemed as though there was some kind of connection he didn't know about. Anyways, he was reminiscing on the entire day, and how it went.

 _It was definitely not boring, no matter what anyone could say._

To start, he had woken up a bit too early, so he was a bit grouchy. And on top of that, he found out through one of his buddies that the armies of the USA were approaching the northern border of the state. When he finally managed to get there, after catching a ride on a troop train that was northbound, he found out there _wasn't_ a battle going on. Rather, it was a stand-off of the Confederate and Union army's, right on top of Bryant Hill. The Confederates had the high ground, while the Union had dug-in with trenches at the bottom. Basing his thoughts on a rough estimate, he guessed there we about six-hundred and sixty thousand Union soldiers. However, his country-men out-numbered them close to four-to-one.

That made him feel better, because his motherland had better chance at surviving. Plus, with Russia, China, and most of NATO backing the Confederacy after the USA had threatened nuclear war, he felt confident they would win this, and keep southern independence. Once the battle had commenced, and finished, he had decided to go and look for anything he could use in the aftermath. With somewhere close to six-hundred and fifty thousand soldiers slain, the Union sustained heavy losses. The Confederacy lost a good sixty-some-odd-thousand men, but it was a minor number compared to the enemy's losses. And of course, as he was strolling through that mess, _it_ had to come along.

 _Henry Smith_ , or, well, otherwise known as _The Union Loyalist._

Of course he had to show up. He knew the Loyalist went wherever the Union's armies went. Once he shows up, that's when everything goes to shit. Since he decided to provoke the loyalist, he knew what he was going up against. Coltrane hated Smith, and with a burning passion too. He wanted to kill that son-of-a-bitch with every ounce of his being. Coltrane had felt that he would have in that battle. He didn't expect it to end the way it did, but, at least he made the loyalist disappear. That was something.

After he had woken up, he found himself in this strange place. Now, given, he would be confused if he woke up somewhere he had never seen before, but Coltrane had a bad habit of shooting first and then asking questions. Even though he had tried to hold back on that, he couldn't help shooting and stabbing the two people standing over him when he had woken. Of course, that startled everyone that saw. He had gotten up and asked them what they wanted, and it seemed that no one had the guts to answer him.

* * *

"Let me make this loud and clear so y'all can hear me; What the fuck do you people want from me?"

Everyone looked, and held back their responses, because they were too scared to answer. They had just witnessed murder in cold blood, so of course they would be scared to say anything. Mr. Colbert, who simply looked on at this scene, just couldn't believe it.

 _'How could he just kill those two like that? It's not like they were going to hurt him_.'

Colbert may have been a soldier, and he may have killed some people, but the way that this man just dismissed the two doctors like that frightened him. He didn't want to know what this man could really do. He shuddered. He was sure if someone pissed off this man, it would be hell to pay.

Coltrane questioned if it was necessary to do that. But he decided it was worth it, simply because he could honestly care less. He's killed, murdered, maimed, and all-out destroyed so many people in his life he was just simply used to it. Killing was just another means of survival, and for him, it was easy as breathing. So why were these two any different?

De-summoning his M-60, he decided to also summon a couple of handguns to keep on him, just in case. He watched as two holsters materialized and appeared on either side of his hip. In one holster, a Model 1911 Pistol, chambered for .357, and in the other, an older Colt SAA revolver, also chambered for .357. He de-summoned the staff, and also summoned his Buck knife with a 7-inch blade, latching it to his belt. Colbert watched this with curiosity, but also stood at his guard.

"Alright," Coltrane said in a raised voice. "Let me try this once again. Just what in the fuck do you people want from me?"

That was when a small girl stepped forward. She couldn't have been more than five feet tall, at the most, and she had strawberry-blonde hair that looked pink, and her eyes were also pink. She was wearing the same uniform as the other kids were. ' _Goddamn she's small. And her hair's pink too? Jesus Christ; What is this, some fuckin' anime now?'_ He was broken from his thoughts when she spoke up.

"I-i-i s-summoned you to b-b-e m-my f-f-familiar."

He could tell she was scared. Of course she would be; She was looking at a man who was 8 feet tall and was pretty well built . . . . . . and just murdered two people in cold blood. Coltrane looked down at her, and simply started laughing. She flinched when he did.

"Hahaha! What'sa matter shorty? You scared?" She pouted at being called 'shorty'. Coltrane simply patted her head, and kneeled down so his eyes could meet hers at a proper level. "Look kid, you don't have to be scared of me. I may enjoy causing pain and killing people, but I'll only hurt you if you piss me off." He said that way too well. She simply looked at him with fear. "That goes for the rest of you as well." He raised his voice. "Don't be afraid. Just don't piss me off. Otherwise, you won't have to worry about it." Everyone seemed to relax a bit after that remark. Colbert also relaxed, even though he decided to keep an eye on this man Louise summoned just in case.

"Anyways, you pulled me here to be a . . . . what, Familiar was it?" He asked. That's when he heard laughter behind the girl in front of him, and he could see she was becoming annoyed severely by it.

"Well, well Louise" Kirche chuckled. She was barely containing her laughter, as well as many of the others students were starting to laugh, even though a moment ago they had their nerve's wracked. "I'm quite surprised you summoned him. We've come to expect no more from Louise the Zero." The laughter got even more intense. Louise was about to deliver a retort, but Coltrane spoke up first, with a cocked eyebrow.

"Bitch, you're tempting death, big time. So how about you shut the fuck up before I decide to put a bullet in your skull and shut you up permanently." Suddenly the laughter died and the silence returned, as Kirche and the others looked on in disbelief. How could someone just threaten someone with death like that? "Anyways, let's just get this over with. Do what you have to do."

"Of course." Louise answered. "Let's just get this over with so we can be done." Coltrane nodded in agreement to that. Louise raised her wand and began to chant.  
"My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. Pentagon of the five elemental powers; bless this humble being, and make him my familiar!" Before Coltrane could get a bead on whatever the hell this was, she launched in and kissed him on the lips, much to his astonishment. He could hear Lee laughing in the back of his head.

 _Hahahahaha! I never thought you'd be doing that again! Not since that damn bitch decided t-_ He couldn't finish his sentence because Coltrane mentally slapped him upside the head. _Shut up you. Don't even get me started on **her**. _ He saw Louise pull away with a slight blush on her face. He felt something weird try and enter his mind, but he simply purged whatever it was with his power. He inwardly chuckled. _I guess you can do that when you've got more power than you know what to do with._ He noticed that his rune seemed to be glowing brighter than before.

"Alright Ms. Valliere, it seems you successfully secured the contract," Mr Colbert eyed Coltrane suspiciously, but then noticed the rune. "Pardon me, but may I see your rune?" Coltrane eyed him for a moment, and hesitantly showed it to the man. Mr Colbert made a sketch and mumbled something about never seeing a rune like this before. "Very well. I will have to see if I can find more on this rune, because I've never seen one like it before." Coltrane eyed the man for a moment as he signaled for the others to return to the school.

Coltrane turned back around to find Louise watching him intently, and then to which she simply told him to follow her back to her dorm. He sighed, and obliged her. He figured this would be a long stay here, or wherever the hell 'here' was exactly.

* * *

He was deep in thought when Lee interrupted him.

 _'You see to have something on your mind Jason'_ Lee said. Coltrane sighed. Since he was the Confederate Rebel, his power had granted him several god-like abilities, like teleportation, weapon summoning, healing, among'st other things. Being able to talk to 'spirits' of sorts was another. What it also meant, that he was able to talk to General Robert Lee himself, as well as Thomas Stonewall, Jefferson Davis, and other spirits that had survived the first war. He was the only one who could hear them though, so more often than not he had gotten some weird looks back in his old world.

 _'Yeah, I guess you could say that'_ Coltrane replied, sighing in the process' _'I'm missing home already. The heat of battle, the sigh and sound of death and battle, eh...'_ He trailed off for a second. _'You get the idea Robert. I want to be home, but I don't know how to get back. I tried the teleportation, and it didn't work, so I guess I'm stuck here._ 'Lee pondered for a moment, but drew no ideas for Jason. _'I don't know what to tell you bud. I guess you'll just have to play along with this crap for now._ _'_

Coltrane sighed again. _'Well, I can already tell you I've made things perfectly clear with pinkie over there,'_ He looked to where Louise was now sleeping. _'She agreed to treat me like an actual human being, and not some slave. I also told her she will need to look after herself since she pretty much old enough. She had asked me to do shit like washing her clothes, or cleaning up her room. But you'll get a kick out of what she ultimately tried to get me to do.'_ Lee gave him a curious look. What did she ask of him that could get him riled up like this?

 _'She tried to make me dress and undress her, like some fucking . . . . I don't even fucking know at this point!'_ Coltrane was annoyed now. Lee just gave him a blank stare, and then broke into uncontrollable laughter.

 _'SERIOUSLY? HOLY SHIT MAN! HAHAHAHA!'_ Lee couldn't help himself, as the image of this 8 foot man dressing a very small, almost delicate 18 year-old. Oh, while it was pretty funny, it was also a bit disturbing to Lee.

 _'Shut up._ _'_ Coltrane sighed again. _'But, I did manage to clear thing sup anyways. She agreed to do her own stuff, and I told her I would do what I could to protect her. Simple as that.'_ Lee gave an odd expression, but understood what he said. At least the issues were cleared up.

 _'Anything else you want to say, or is that it? Not to sound like a dick of course but . . . . yeah.'_ Lee asked after a momentary awkward silence. Coltrane sighed again. _'I took a look around the school and I seem to have the place memorized. Louise went over her schedule with me, and told me that's they're usual daily schedule, save on weekends for special holidays of course, but so, it looks as though I won't have really much of anything to do during the day.'_

Yep. Sitting around doing jack shit all day. How wonderful. _'Anyways Lee, I'm gonna relax and see if I can get some sleep. I'll talk tomorrow if I need anything.'_ And with that, Lee disappeared from his mind. Coltrane took his hat off, and leaned the chair back a bit further. Maybe he could get some rest for now.

* * *

Bright sunlight pierced through the window of the room, and shined over the bed, and directly onto Coltrane's face. He woke with a grunt, and put his hand up in front of his face in an effort to block the light. He forgot, however, that he was leaning back in a chair while he slept, and he thus fell backwards after suddenly realizing that. He fell to the floor, leaving an indention in it, and he shot up, startled a bit. After realizing where he was, he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"I was wondering when you would wake up." He whipped his head around and found Louise leaning on the doorframe. "Try not to do that again. You made yourself look pretty ridiculous." Coltrane simply grunted in reply. He put his hat back on, and strapped his holster belts together. "Where are you off to?" Coltrane asked. "I'm off to breakfast, where else? Come on, it's your duty to accompany me." Louise spun around and started walking down the hall. Coltrane simply shut the door and followed her.

When they showed up to the dining room, or what Coltrane assumed was a cafeteria, silence filled the room as all eyes watched them walk between the rows. When Louise took a seat, and Coltrane simply sat down next to her, the air was filled with the sound of quiet giggles and whispers, which caused Louise to give him an annoyed look. "What? What's wrong with the man sittin' down to eat his fuckin' damn breakfast?"

He looked over what was laid out for this meal. Pancakes, tomato soup, a small loaf of bread, a small slice of cake, champagne, a glass of water, and some kind of 'red patty of bullshit'* with a white drizzle and butter. Not his usual country breakfast, but he guessed it would suffice. For now at least. He was about to dig in until a hand swatted at him. He looked over to see Louise was angry with him for some reason, with the other students giving him amusing stares.

"Only nobles can sit here." She started pointing down at the floor next to her. "You, peasant, sit down there." Coltrane was confused, but then got annoyed because of what she said. "And why, pray tell, do you think I would do something like that? Eating on the floor? What do you think I am?" Louise became agitated because of the small giggles and stares she was receiving from her peers. "You're just a commoner, nothing more. Now get down there or you can go without breakfast at all!" Coltrane was slightly surprised at her outburst, but it only annoyed him more.

"You know what?" He stabbed the knife into the table with enough force to put a decent crack in it. "Fuck this shit. I'm gonna go and cook my own damn breakfast instead of this shit." He got up and walked back towards what he was assuming was the kitchen, intent on getting a meal that he actually wanted.

* * *

After the breakfast incident, Louise and Coltrane were walking outside in silence, until she spoke up. "Normally, familiars sit outside during breakfast. You'll be doing that for now on." Coltrane simply gave an irritated sigh. "Whatever." He said. They continued in silence until Coltrane stopped. "What's going on over there?"

"All the second-year students have the day off today. We're supposed to be getting to know all of the new familiars." Coltrane looked on at the scene. "I'd just as soon pass on that, thank you." Louise only sighed, when they heard a familiar voice behind them.

"Oh?"

Louise and Coltrane both turned around to face Kirche and her salamander. Coltrane was surprised as he knelt down towards it. "Holy shit that's a big damn salamander. I've never seen one this big before." He let the creature sniff his hand, and then began scratching it's head, which it obviously enjoyed. As he was petting the oversized lizard, Kirche watched him intently, only giving a sly smile to Louise, which only annoyed her. "Don't give me that!" Kirche only stood up to her.

"Are you sure you didn't just pull some random, nearby commoner? You must have covered it well with that explosion." Louise only got more annoyed. "I did the summons properly! It just so happened that this guy showed up!" Kirche laughed. "Well, he's only fitting for Louise the Zero." She chortled a bit and walked away with the salamander. Louise was livid now. "What is the problem with that wench?" She fumed. She turned to Coltrane. "Don't just stand there. Bring me tea!" She shouted and walked away.

Coltrane only sighed, and leaned back against the wall. He obviously didn't want to be here, and it only bothered him that he couldn't find a way home. _'I'll find a way home eventually.'_ Coltrane was about to go take a walk when he felt someone trip up over him. It was one of the maids he was watching a moment ago. She started to get up when Coltrane offered his help.

"Ah, thank you. I'm sorry for being so clumsy." She said it as though Coltrane was going to hit her. What a shame. If this was how they acted, then who knows what these so-called 'nobles' did to them. "Don't mind it miss." Coltrane then noticed she was staring at his hand with the mark. "You wouldn't happen to be Ms. Valliere's familiar would you?" Coltrane was surprised. Apparently word spreads fast here."Aye. That would be me. How did you know?" He asked.

"Rumors spread fast around here, especially after an event like yesterday." She giggled. "By the way, what is your name?" Coltrane asked. "I'm Siesta. What's your name?" For once, Coltrane found himself curious to know someone. "I'm Jason Coltrane. Pleasure to meet you." Siesta seemed puzzled. "Jason-san . . . ." She trailed off. "What an odd name." They then heard a voice to their left.

"Hey. When are you going to bring me my cake?" A blonde boy asked. Siesita apologized, and after delivering his cake, scurried off somewhere else. Coltrane recognized him as the kid name Guiche from his walk last night. It seemed that this prick had two girls he was flirting with. How wonderful.

"Excuse me," Another voice asked, from his right. He turned to see who it was, and it was the brown-haired girl that Guiche was talking to last night. "I'm looking Guice-sama. Have you seen him?" Coltrane pondered for a second, and decided maybe he could stir up a small ruckus here. "Aye. He's over there talking with a blonde girl that's sitting with him." The brown-haired girl ran over, and Coltrane watched the following argument, which ended with Guiche getting slapped twice. Coltrane started laughing to himself a bit, and somehow Guiche noticed it.

"It seems as though you do not know how to respect your superiors commoner!" Coltrane could see that this kid was trying to be angry. "And on top of that, you made these two ladies cry! You will pay for what you've done. I hereby challenge you to a duel. Right here, right now!" Coltrane was surprised that he wanted that. It seemed as though he wanted certain death. Coltrane turned his head and gave Guiche a dark look. "Look kid, even if you trained yourself to fight for your entire life, you wouldn't even be able to stand up to me. Unless you want certain death, I would recommend manning up and taking responsibility for what you've done. Don't try to blame me for your own stupidity."

Coltrane started walking back towards a doorway when Guiche spoke again. "How dare you insult a noble, your better, you . . . you heathen! You're a joke to the F-" But Coltrane simply cut him off because he knew where this was going. "I'm a joke to what? Your impotent Founder? Your 'Brimir?" Coltrane gave an icy chuckle. "Jesus Christ, what a fucking joke. I've been compared to many things in my life, but that's honestly a low I've never heard of before." Coltrane began walking away once again.

Everyone covered their mouths, because no one had ever insulted the Founder and this heathen did just that so casually that it was almost sickening. Louise had just walked over to see what was going on, but when she heard HER familiar say that, she was absolutely stunned. And Kirche, she simply couldn't believe what she had heard, because her mouth was just hanging open. Guiche was red with anger. First, this commoner insulted two fine ladies and now he blatantly disregarded the great Founder! This was a disgrace!

"Stop, you insignificant commoner!" Coltrane didn't listen and just kept on walking. He had more important things to do anyways. "I challenged you to a duel! Or are you a coward, much like your ashamed parents to even have had you."

Once Coltrane heard that, he stopped, with his last step cracking the ground underneath it. He was furious now. To have some kid insult him so; It granted only death. An oppressive pressure came down upon everyone like a stone wall. They found they were terrified of what was about to happen to Guiche. Coltrane slowly turned his head with a bright glow coming from his one eye. They saw the very same weapon from earlier materialize it'self in his hands. They could tell he was _really,really, PISSED._

"Motherfucker, you better throw everything you have at me, and hope to your Founder that I don't get through it, because if I do . . . ." Coltrane trailed off. Guiche noticed was was happening and was scared.

"It will be your fucking death motherfucker."

* * *

OK! I finally got the second chapter written after about 5+ months of not writing anything. I know it will probably be a shitty read, but that's just what it is. Anyways guys, I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter, and I will hopefully see y'all in the next one!

Over-n-out,

N. Coltrane


	3. Chapter 3

Copyright Disclaimer.

Zero No Tsukaima belong's to it's respective owner/owners. The Union Loyalist and the Confederate Rebel are my OC's. Any other trademarks/copyrights belong to their respective owners.

Now, onwards into the story.

* * *

Guiche was having second thoughts about challenging Louise's familiar now. He had noticed everyone became nervous as Jason had laid down his threat to basically kill him on the spot. He thought he could easily beat this this commoner at first but now he was worried that this wouldn't be that easy. Guiche decided to steel his resolve, and put this low-life peasant in his place. "Very well. My name is Guiche the Bronze, and since my runic name is Bronze, you will be fighting my Valkyries." And with a flick of his wrist, 6 petals landed on the ground, and a Valkyrie popped out of each one.

Jason was pissed off to no ends. No one would ever be stupid enough to compare him to the piles of shit that are, or rather were, his parents. The last person to try that wound up having what was left of them buried in a mason jar. As soon as he turned around, he came face to face with some kind of metal constructs which that kid called bronze valkyries. He gripped his M60 tighter. Jason knew this kid would be no match for hisself, but these valkyries would probably prove to be annoying, especially in numbers.

Guiche, with another flick of his wrist, sent his valkyries forward. He was thinking this would be over in a few seconds and everything would be fine, but then, everything went to hell. Jason had raised the M60 and was spraying into the valkyires charging him whilst charging forward himself. Guiche, in a panic after seeing his valkyries being defeated so easily, summoned many more, and then also summoned his Viking-styled valkyries. The Viking Valkyries were about twice the size of the normal bronze valkyries and were more brutish looking compared to the feminine figure of the normal constructs, and these carried large battle axes rather than normal spears. But, as before, Guiche could only watch in horror as Jason shot, tore, and clawed his way through all of his constructs. Soon, Guiche was unable to spawn anymore of his constructs, but he was able to summon a sword. He drew the sword and swung wildy at Jason, who was approaching him with the M60 now in his left hand. Jason grabbed the sword with his right arm, which was a complete metal gauntlet, and broke the sword with one snap of his hand. Guiche fell backwards, now terrified of what was coming next as Jason lifted up the gun so that it was level with him. Everyone braced themselves and expected the worst.

"Stop!" Louise's voice pierced through the air as she ran in between Guiche and Jason. "I may have agreed to treat you fairly, but as your master, I am ordering you not to kill him! I really don't want you do to this!" Louise was practically begging at this point, even if it didn't appear as so. She didn't want to see one of her classmates die, even if most of them did treat her badly. Not only that, but she also didn't want that on her conscious, especially since the familiar is a reflection of the master. Jason, however, by this point, only sought blood, and simply grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and brought her up to eye level with him. When she did meet him eye to eye, she saw how his eye glowed with the exact same flag she had seen before. She wondered just what had happened to him. Then a voice whose accent sounded just like Jason's popped into her head. ' _Don't worry child. You'll find out soon enough just who exactly he is.'_

"Listen you. I'm going to do this, and you will not stand in my way. I cannot stand being related to those low-lifes that dared to call themselves my parents. And I will be DAMNED if someone insults me like so!" He shouted and then tossed her aside. To him, it was like just tossing something to the side, but to Louise, it was almost like being thrown. She landed with a thud, and no sooner than when she opened her eyes and she saw Jason shooting Guiche with that gun and he wasn't stopping. Everyone watched in horror as this hulk of a man, wielding an automatic firearm, reduced the blonde boy to nothing but a red sponge. By the time Jason had stopped shooting, the barrel on his gun was glowing orange. Jason stood over the bloody remains of what was Guiche. "You stupid prick." He muttered and walked away, with Louise carefully following him into the tower.

* * *

A couple days had passed since Jason murdered Guiche de Grammont. The news of it had spread, and with that, many people not only had stopped treating Louise the way they had, but everyone now didn't even speak to her. They always gave her distance wherever she went, no one dared speak to her, worried about what would happen. Louise was grateful that the teasing stopped, but at the same time she also found that she felt alone. She had a few friends, but even they now avoided her. She had written a letter home, and she was worried how her parents and sisters would take what she put into it. She knew Cattleya would probably try and comfort her, and Eleonore would scold her, like she always has. But she was really worried about what her mother would do. She sighed, since she was bored at the moment. Since today happened to be Void day, she had the day off and could do whatever she wished. She was currently laying on her bed reading a book while Jason was fiddling with something on his gauntlet. She remembered the look on Guiche's face before he was massacred. She could not believe that HER familiar could do such a thing and not even be bothered by it. She glanced over to him and something made her even more curious to know more about him. Louise closed her book and turned to Jason. "Jason can I ask you something?"

At first, there was no response; Only silence. She slid over and sat on the edge of the bed. He had tools scattered on the table, but she didn't even know where he had gotten those from. After a few seconds, a loud sigh and a "Sure" was his simple response, not even looking up from whatever he was doing. She did not want to make him mad, but at the same time, she had to know just who exactly she had summoned to be her familiar, since she had forgotten to do so. Louise hesitated for a second. "I don't want to make you mad or anything like that . . . b-but just who exactly are you Jason? . . . . I never asked you because I had uh . . . f-forgotten to."

At first, he thought nothing of it, but then he realized what she was asking for. She wanted to know just who she was dealing with. Jason stopped what he was doing turned and stared directly at her with his one eye and a bewildered expression written on his face; One eyebrow cocked up. That was the first time anyone had asked who he 'really' was. It seemed she wasn't satisfied with just knowing his name, and he kind of understood that.

"Very well. I'll tell you who I am. Just give me a second to finish this." She hmm'ed in response and Jason finished working on his gauntlet. He got up and turned to her. "Ok Louise. You want to know who I am, so here." He paused for a second."I am Jason Lee Coltrane; Last surviving member of the Coltrane bloodline, and also a direct descendant of the famous General Robert Edward Lee. I happen to have the power of the Confederate Rebel imbued within me, and I am a man of war, death, and destruction." He paused for a second to let that sink in. Albeit he did not have a very pleasant start to life for the first 15 years, after that one particular incident involving him and his parents, it became a whole lot better. Louise looked as though she was trying to think of something to ask. She looked perplexed, but then her expression gave it away that she understood what he was saying. "And before you ask, that's all I'm gonna give you for now. Earn my trust and maybe . . . just maybe . . . I'll tell you about my past. But, for now, I shall leave that undisclosed." Louise was still looking at him wide eyed as he sat down in the chair facing her. She shook her head, but then something else came to mind. "I realize you may have your guns and what-not, but if you ever can't use those you'll need something else. I need to get you some kind of weapon you can keep on you." Jason gave her a confused look. "You do realize I still have my handguns and my knife holstered on me right?" In all honesty, he had totally forgotten about them until now. Louise shook her head again. "I know you do, but you'd need a sword, at least. " Jason's expression said 'Are you kidding me' but he went along with it. "Ok. And pray tell where are we gonna go to get me another weapon?"

Louise pondered for a second. "There's a town . . actually no, the closest place to go would be the capital, Tristania. if I remember correctly . . . it's about three hours from here on horseback. There's a weapons shop there we can go to; If it's still there that is. " Jason gave her a doubtful look, but he agreed to go anyways. Besides, in his mind, he was actually somewhat excited to get another weapon to add to his arsenal. He was starting to get tired of using all of the same stuff over and over again.

* * *

After 3 hours on horseback, Jason and Louise finally reached Tristania. Walking through the streets, people eyed her, but more specifically they were being wary of Jason. It doesn't take long for words about things to spread, especially an event like the death of the son of General Grammont by the hands of a noble's familiar. After walking through the town, the two found the weapons shop and entered. Jason did not know what to expect from it, but he was expecting a shop to sell muskets and such as well as swords. But this shop in particular had just about everything it seemed like. Several minutes passed by while the two browsed through the weapons. Louise was holding a small rapier and Jason was looking several claymores on the wall when the owner of the store noticed the two as he was walking out from the storage room.

"Ah. Welcome! Welcome! How can I help you two today?" The shopkeeper asked. "My . . . servant needs a sword. What have you got?" Louise asked. "Ah! That's been a fad among the nobles lately to arm their servants! But anyways we've got just about everything. Anything you are looking for in particular?" Louise then immediately pointed to Jason. "I need a sword for this . . . sasquatch of a servant." Jason turned around, slightly annoyed. "I ain't no damn sasquatch. Besides, it ain't my fault tallness ran in my ancestor's bloodlines." Louise turned on Jason and screamed for him to shut up. She turned back to the counter, "I will trust your best judgement here." The shopkeeper then had an idea. 'She looks like one of the most filthy rich nobles. Maybe I can pull the old 'perfect sword' routine on her.' "I have just the thing for someone his size. Let me go into the back and get it." When the shopkeeper brought out the sword, Louise visibly lit up. "This sword was made by a famous Germanian alchemist, and it's the best sword money can buy." Louise was still lit up. "That's amazing! How much is it?" The shopkeeper pulled it then. "This sword is about 3,000 ecu's." Louise immediately became pale. "But that much money can buy an estate and surrounding land! What is the sword even made of anyways?" The shopkeeper still has a smug look on his face. "Like I said, this sword was made of gold by a famous Germanian alchemist. It's best in it's class." Then Jason came over to the counter, picked up the sword, and then broke it over the counter.

"Gold is not an effective material to use in a weapon. This was more of a decorative piece of shit that couldn't be used in a real fight." Then he immediately reached over the counter and grabbed the shopkeeper by his throat with his gauntlet and drug him onto the counter-top. "And just why in the hell are you trying to sell us a piece of shit huh? You better have something that's actually worthwhile as a weapon."

"Ugh! Damn it you woke me up! Oh to hell with that! If you want a sword that's worthwhile, look over here! In the barrel in the corner!" A voice spoke. Jason let go of the shopkeeper as he and Louise turned around. Jason became interested as he walked over to the barrel, and dug out what looked like a straight katana with a hand-and-a-half grip. Jason looked visibly confused as he held the sword. "You seem like you know exactly what you're looking for!" The sword spoke again."The sword just talked." Louise recognized what the sword actually was. "Well of course I did! That's because I'm an intelligent sword! A sword with it's own soul! My name's Derflinger!" Louise had a blank look on her face. She was just as confused but shocked as well. Jason gave the sword a couple of swings and decided it was good enough. He turned to the shopkeeper and gave him a glare. "For the trouble, we'll be taking this sword free of charge," He said as he grabbed the scabbard, holstered the sword, and threw it over his shoulder. "If you want to argue about it, I'll be more than glad to come over there and pummel you if necessary." The shopkeeper got the message after that. Louise and Jason left the shop with the owner cowering behind the counter. After traveling the three hours back, it was already night time when the two got back to the academy. As the two rode in through the gate, three mysterious hooded figures could be seen on top of one of the walls, observing the two. Jason stopped midway to the tower and glanced around, having the feeling he was being watched. He soon shrugged it off however. As soon as Louise and Jason were in the tower, the figures floated off the wall to the ground and sprinted away from the academy. The three stopped as soon as they reached the treeline.

Fouquet pulled off her hood. "So . . . heh . . . was that enough proof for you . . . Wardes? I . . I told you they would be here." Wardes also pulled his hood off. He was shocked to discover that his fiance had summoned such a thing. "I never . . . . never would had believed it . . . Fouquet . . . . if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. That . . . thing may look human, but by the founder I never seen any man that big before." Wardes pondered for a moment. "We'll have to wait to make our move. For now, we'll keep a watch on him. He sounds and looks as dangerous as the rumors said." Wardes looked over to the last hooded figure. "What do you think Henry?" Henry Smith removed his hood. He gave Wardes a blank stare. "Do not underestimate him. He's way too powerful for any normal human being to fight. I was barely able to fight him with my power alone. The only advantage I had, was this sword," He then proceeded to halfway unholster the sword he carried. Fouquet and Wardes got a good look at the sword. It's grip had black leather with gold overlay wrapped around it, with a flat cross-guard and a bluish-black blade. "This is Durandal. Grant and Sherman had secured this sword for me after some dealings with . . . uh . . . some people. I used this to try to defeat the Rebel back in our world, but then I let my curiosity get the best of me. But now, if we do happen to meet again, I will be able to defeat him." Henry holstered the sword and stood up while chuckling slightly. "It's pretty funny actually. Now, I have not only the power of the Union Loyalist, but I also have TWO legendary Void Familiar's powers; The Gandalfr and the Vindalfr." Wardes stood as well. "That is good. We'll need you eventually. For now, head back to Romalia. Me and Fouquet will have to go to Albion soon and report all of this to Cromwell. But first, we need to secure the Staff of Destruction. Can you handle that Fouquet?" She gave a smirk to Wardes. "Of course I can. I've managed all the other break ins haven't I?"

* * *

Jason stretched out after the long ride back. He and Louise had gotten back to the academy at the same time, but he had fallen behind a bit after looking around the kitchens for some kind of alcohol to consume. He had come into the room still clutching the whiskey bottle he was drinking from. Jason noticed Louise was already in the bed after he got into the dorm. He quietly stepped over to the bed and gently nudged Louise. She pulled the covers over her head as she groaned. He walked over to the window, and looked out over the court yard. He noticed by the torch lights there was a carriage by the gate. Next to it was a man who was ridiculously dressed, and he noticed the maid he had a small interaction with before. 'Hmm. I wonder what somebody like him wants with one of the school's maids.' He shrugged it off, assuming that the maid simply worked for the guy. Louise suddenly sprang up from the bed, pale as ever. But then she got a confused look, and then paled again as she fell back onto the bed. Jason was confused as he walked over to check on Louise. "I just forgot," Louise said, shaking slightly under the covers. "The princess is supposed to be coming tomorrow, for the Familiar Exhibition." She then realized something else. "Wait, I've got to be there too." Louise groaned as the sat up and facepalmed. "Jason, don't you have anything you could possibly do for it? I don't think . . . . brutal murder would be taken lightly." Jason pondered for a moment. He was able to play a banjo pretty well until he had his right arm transformed into a gauntlet. Other than that, he pretty much had nothing else. "I got nothin'." He said blankly. Louise sighed. She knew she would once again become the laughing stock of the school. Silence reigned for a moment until there was a knock on the door, and then a letter was slid under the door. Jason walked over to the door, took the letter and then gave it to Louise. She opened it, after reading through it, her eyes widened and her face paled. She set the letter down with her hand shaking. "Louise, what's wrong?" Jason asked. He was starting to feel concerned for this girl. She turned to him and looked like she was about to cry.

"My . . . parents are coming tomorrow as well as my sisters." She showed him the letter. "My mother said she was coming to, and I quote, 'take care of the problem I have created'." Jason was confused. Tears started running down her cheeks. "She wants to kill you. She believes that summoning a commoner as a familiar is unacceptable, and not only that, but an insult to the Valliere family name." Jason got the message then. He gave out a loud sigh, and simply shook his head. "When will people ever learn to leave me the hell alone? For fuck sakes." He gave a sympathetic look to Louise. She was sobbing at this point. "She also talked about pulling me out of this academy, and taking me home and getting me married." Now Jason was starting to get pissed off. It sounded like her mother didn't even care about this poor girl. He got up and then sat himself over on the bed. Louise sat up and looked at him, tears still running down her cheeks. He gave her a serious look.

"Listen Louise. Let me tell you something. I will not let her do anything. I don't care if she's your mother. Your old enough to make your own decisions in life, and she should know that." He took another swig of the whiskey he had been drinking. Louise looked at him. "Do you realize just who my mother is? Karin the Heavy Wind. She mercilessly slaughtered people in her time in the army. She has been known to be the cruelest woman alive. If you even knew of what she has accomplished," Louise started to babble, but Coltrane put one finger to her lips. "Like I said before, I don't care who the fuck your _mother_ is. I will not let her bully you into doing something you don't want to do. You make your own _god damned_ decisions and you stick to them. If she want's to try and kill me; _Let her_. She'll probably think of me as some commoner who can't do shit. If she wants me to unleash the monster I really am; _**So. Be. It.**_ " Then Louise did something Jason did not expect. She jumped on him and pulled him into a tight hug. He froze, completely unsure of what to do in this situation. Even though it had happened many times before earlier in his life, he had never expected it to happen again after what had happened in his last relationship from seven years ago. Louise was still clinging to him, tears coming off of her when she whispered to him. "Thank you. Thank you so much. I've never had anyone stand up for me except my older sister Cattleya." She released him and then slid back down into the bed. Jason got up and decided to go for a short walk. After grabbing Derflinger, he proceeded out. After leaving the tower, he walked out to the perimeter wall, and surprisingly, ran into who Jason recognized as Marteau from the kitchen staff.

"Beautiful night out isn't it?" Marteau asked. Jason hmm'ed in reply. The night sky was full of stars and there wasn't a could around to block the view of the two moons. Marteau gave a sigh and then turned to Jason. "Can you help me with something? Siesta was taken away by Count Mott today to be his mistress. We didn't want her to go and she didn't want to go, but those nobles forced her to anyways." Jason's head snapped in Marteau's direction. "Just give me some directions to wherever the hell he lives and I'll go get her for you." Marteau gave a weak smile as he who Mott was, what he did, and everything else. He also explained that this had happened before. Twice to be precise. Jason was silently stewing over how he would kill Mott. Marteau explained how to get to Mott's mansion. Jason then went to the stables, grabbed a horse, and immediately took off, not knowing Louise was watching him the whole time.

* * *

After about an hour, he arrived at the gates of Mott's mansion. He was eyeing the place all over until Derf spoke up. "Hey Partner. I know this might be a bad time, but I still don't know who _you_ are." Jason had completely forgotten about that. "My name's Jason Lee Coltrane, Derf. It's a pleasure to meet ya." Derf hmm'ed. "I also noticed you don't have the Gandalfr mark. But that's ok though. I may be built for a Gandalfr, but I can choose my partner to be whoever the hell I want." Jason gave a smirk. "Good to know then Derf." Jason then immediately drew the sword and held it with his gauntlet. "This will only take a second." Derf was confused until he felt power flowing through him. It was immense, and felt never ending. The blade then glowed, and after the glow subsided, it looked totally different. Gone was the rust, and now, the blade looked just like a sword should. The grip had a dark leather wrap, and the cross-guard and bolted blade ridge were a dark gunmetal black, and the blade was a shiny silver color. The blade gave out a sigh. "Wow. For a 6000 year old sword, I have not felt this good in years." Jason was still smirking. "That was me re-enforcing you with my own power." Jason immediately stood up, and then walked into the middle of the open gate. Derf spoke up. "Hey partner. I've got to ask. What're you up to? What're you planning?" Jason's eye started glowing, along with his rune. "After I get the maid out of here, I'm gonna kill Mott and his staff and his guards, and then I'm gonna burn this fucking place to the ground." Derf gave a whistle. "I like it." Jason got an evil smile on his face.

"Glad you do. Now. Let us get started."

* * *

OK! I finally got this third chapter written after about another 5+ months of not writing anything. I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter, and I will hopefully see y'all in the next one!

Over-n-out,

N. Coltrane


	4. Chapter 4

Copyright Disclaimer.

Zero No Tsukaima belong's to it's respective owner/owners. The Union Loyalist and the Confederate Rebel are my OC's. Any other trademarks/copyrights belong to their respective owners.

Now, onwards into the story.

* * *

Louise was starting to worry. It was day-break and Jason had not come back to the academy since he took off last night. She knew he was a tough individual, but every person had limits. Louise had realized, that after last night, she actually might have someone other than her sister she could talk to about her problems. She really did not want to lose that. She was already dressed and was staring out the window at the sunrise coming over the horizon. She knew this time had to come eventually. The Familiar Exhibition. This day would be the day she would be ultimately humiliated. Not only in front of every person in the school, but also her parents and sisters, and even the princess. She sighed because she knew this was not going to be a good day. She peered out the window only to see Jason walking through the main gate. Louise was ecstatic as she flew out of her dorm and down the stairwell in the tower. It was only until she got outside when she realized something was wrong. As Jason got closer, she realized he was covered in blood. And lots of it too.

"Jason." She called his name out with a hint of concern. He stopped and gave her a glare that pierced through her. She was nervous because it looked like saying the wrong thing could set him off. "You look like hell. What happened to you?" She asked him. His glare softened and then he sighed.

"I was out taking care of something last night." Jason started. "And I'm only just now getting back." She was horrified as she got a closer look at him. He had cuts, gashes and scratches all over him, but the blood he was soaked in wasn't his own. She realized it was someone else's. "After I had left last night, I ran into one of the cooks out here who asked me for help. He wanted to get that maid . . . uh . . . Siesta or something. But yeah he wanted her back here because she was forced into employ against her wishes." Louise did not like where this was going. She had a feeling he had gone off and killed someone and wound up fighting off an entire security detail in the process.

"Ok. But why are you covered in b-" She paused as she eyed him up and down. " -blood?" She had to tread carefully now. She knew asking him the wrong thing could get him mad. But instead, he was not mad, but more or less just uncaring. "This guy, uh . . . Mont-something-" "His name was Count Mott!" Derflinger interjected. Coltrane sighed. "Yeah. Piece of shit if you ask me. I had to fight off this guy's private army just to get into his giant-ass house. After I had done that, I did get that maid out of there, but not after I burned his mansion down and ripped that guy apart." Louise went wide-eyed as she realized just who Jason was speaking of. Count Mott, royal messenger for the palace. Oh she was really going to be in trouble if anyone ever found out. "But, for some odd reason, there was still one guy left alive. I think he was probably a perimeter guard I missed or somethin'. I told the guy to deliver a message to whoever rules the country about what had happened there. And I also told him to let them know just who exactly they're gonna be messing with if they retaliate for it." Louise went pale and proceeded to sit down next to the wall.

"Do you even realize what you've done?" Louise asked. Jason gave her the same blank stare. "You've killed a royal messenger. That's punishable by death, if not worse. And of course since I'm technically your master I'll be held accountable for it. And even then my family will suffer as well." She curled herself up and buried her head in her knees. After a few moments of silence, one of them maids came to tell them Osmond was gathering everyone for an assembly soon to discuss who would be arriving today. After the maid had left, Louise turned to Jason. "I don't care what you do today. I just need you to be there when the princess arrives." Jason nodded. "Oh, and go wash yourself off. You being covered in blood wouldn't exactly go over well with this country's royalty." Louise sighed as she walked off to go and join the assembly Osmond was gathering. Jason was left alone with his thoughts as he leaned up against the wall.

 _'That was quite a massacre you created last night wasn't it Jason?'_ Lee's voice echoed in Jason's mind. Jason's thoughts proceeded back to last night. _'Yep. Sure was. Quite the massacre indeed.'_

* * *

 _Mott continued to retreat towards the staircase as this bloodied man approached closer and closer. Mott's entire security detail lay sprawled across the front portion of his property, having been cut down entirely by this monster that was slowly approaching him. Mott's mansion was already burning down mostly at this point, and it was only getting worse as time passed._

 _Count Mott fired a triple water blast at the approaching man, who only used his sword to absorb Mott's magic. Mott tripped up over himself, and turned to try and crawl up the stairs to safety, only to have the towering warrior's sword pierce through his head, killing him instantly._

 _One security guard, who was still alive after the assault, managed to stumble inside the mansion. There, he found the man who had cause all of this chaos, and the guard swing wildly at him with his club, only for the man to disappear, and then reappear in from of him, with his hand wrapped around the guard's neck as he was lifted to this man's level._

 _"I want you to go to wherever the hell the rulers of this country live and let them know of what has happened here. And if they ask who is responsible, tell them that it was the Confederate Rebel!"_

* * *

Louise was a total, sobbing/crying mess. She had locked herself in her room after the general assembly Osmond had called the entire school to. He had discussed the recent thefts of Fouquet the Clod, and the Familiar Exhibition. He also said that the princess was coming to watch this year, so it was going to be an extravagant event. Then Osmond went into detail how word had gotten out that Count Mott's mansion had been completely destroyed by a fire, and his entire security detail had been wiped out. It was assumed that someone by the name of the Confederate Rebel had been responsible. Because of this, security was going to be extra-tight when the princess arrived to the academy in an effort to coax off any possible attacks by this individual. Louise slightly recoiled when Jason had been mentioned, but surprisingly none of this made her break down.

It was after Osmond had asked to speak with her privately. When they were alone in his office, he mentioned that he knew of what Jason had done. He had known it since early in the morning after another royal messenger delivered the scrolls to him. He mentioned he would deny that he knew anything because he did not want to lose his current position as headmaster. He also went into detail with her about how Karin the Heavy Wind, Louise's mother, would be coming to the academy. He said he did not know why, but he had figured he would pass it along to Louise just to let her know.

Louise lay on the bed crying and sobbing. She was worried that her life was over. She was already a zero at magic, and now she would be shamed not only in front of the school, but her entire family and even the princess. But, then her mind wandered back to Jason's words to her from the previous night.

 _'Your old enough to make your own decisions in life, and she should know that.' 'You make your own god damned decisions and you stick to them!'_ She knew his words rang true. But what she had realized, for the first time in a long time, she actually had somebody she could depend on. She had someone who would be there to back her after last night, she was half-tempted to take his advice and stand up to her parents, but that was extremely risky for her. She knew there would be an excruciating punishment if she tried to defy her parents. Louise did not know what to do, but she was then broken from her thoughts by a knock on her door.

"Louise, your door's locked. Is everything ok in there?" Jason's voice echoed from the door. Louise got off the bed and opened up the door to let him in. She noticed he had a towel around his neck, and his hair was let all the way down instead. She walked back to the bed and sat down. Jason took notice of the state Louise was in at the moment. "Louise, what's wrong?" Jason asked. Louise sniffled a bit. "I-I'm worried about what's going to happened soon, with the exhibition and all that." She looked around nervously. Jason took a chair and sat down right in front of her, bringing his eye level down to hers. "I'm worried that my life will be over after this. I'll be humiliated in front of the whole school and the princess. My family will reject me and either marry me off or disown me, and I know that everything's just going to be-" She was close to shouting at this point but a metal finger pressed to her lips stopped her for the moment.

Jason sighed. "Look Louise, what did I tell you last night? Everything's going to be fine, and I'll make sure of it. Like I told ya, make your own damned decisions and stick to them." Louise simply gave him the same look as before. "Look, I don't know just how exactly things will go down, but if you do wind up getting rejected by your family," Jason paused for a moment. He couldn't believe he was doing this, especially after he had promised himself it would never happen again, especially after what happened with _her_. "If bad does come to worse, I'll take you in with me. I'll find someway to make some money and you and me can live together." His eye suddenly became cold. "Without that bitch of a mother you have or anyone else for that matter."

Louise looked at him in shock, but then started to tear up again and then jumped onto him, hugging him as tight as she could. "Thank you, thank you" She was sobbing and crying her heart out now as Jason returned her hug. The two remained that way until another voice echoed through the room.

"And here I was under the impression that I would never see the ever-famous Jason Lee Coltrane embracing another woman ever again. Lord have mercy Mister Coltrane; You really are an unpredictable bastard sometimes." Jason and Louise were startled by this as they quickly separated and face the door at the same time. There in the doorway stood another man. He looked similar to Jason, except his hair was short and white, and his beard was thicker and whiter. He wore black cowboy boots, light gray pants, and a white dress shirt with a black tie and a light gray jacket with gold buttons that was buttoned up. He had holsters on either hip, and handguns similar to Jason's. He and Jason came over to each other and shook hands all while mumbling to each other. Louise was dumbfounded as to what was happening at the moment.

"Oh! I need to introduce you two to each other. Robert, this is Louise de la Valliere. Louise, this is Robert Edward Lee." The once-great General and the young mage both eyed each other warily for a moment, and but then Louise approached and they shook hands. "Anyways, Robert I had never expected you to show up. Not in a physical form at least." Robert gave the towering warrior a cheeky look. "Ha. You still have quite a bit to learn about the power. It can perform all kinds of miracles. Unfortunately it can't get us home." Jason sat down at the table, and motioned for Robert and Louise to join him. Louise sat down, but Robert shook his head. "Nah, I'm not staying for long. I just figured I'd check in with ya and see how you were doing." Jason simply shrugged at the comment. "Socially unacceptable but upright and breathing. Everything's about the same." Robert hmm'ed in response. He pulled a pocket-watch out and checked the time. "Anyways, I've got to get going. So I'll see ya soon. Hopefully." Robert turned and walked out of the room, shutting the door, leaving Jason and Louise alone with each other.

* * *

After several hours, the princess had finally shown up, and had been escorted to her quarters while the students dispersed back to their dorms. Jason and Louise were walking back to the Void tower chit-chatting about various little things. But, right as soon as they reached the door, they heard two carriages come racing in through the gate. As soon as they stopped, Louise recognized just who exactly was in those carriages. She wasted no time in taking Jason's hand as she dragged him back to her dorm. As soon as they were in her room, Louise started freaking out again. "Oh founder oh founder oh founder what am I going to do?!" She was pacing in frustration as they awaited her family to come. Jason was just standing to the side with the talking sword strapped to his back watching Louise make a racket, but he didn't really care because he knew he was probably going to have to kick some ass when her family got here anyways.

"Louise" he called her name out. She stopped to look at him. "Look, everything's gonna be fine. Especially since I'm here. Don't worry about it." Just as soon as he said that, the door flew open and in walked an older woman with pink hair and an older gentleman with light blonde hair. Jason assumed this to be Louise's parents. He watched as the man waved his jeweled cane, and then he suddenly felt himself being lifted off of the floor and then thrown into a wall.

"Louise," the woman spoke. Louise was walking back towards the bed as her mother approached her. "Your father and I are disappointed in you at this moment. And I mean. Extremely. Disappointed." Louise was already showing tears at this point. Jason was struggling to pull himself out of the wall. "As of now, you will not remain in this academy any longer. You are coming home with us and you are getting married. There will be no discussion about it. Pack up you belongings and come down to the carriages." Jason finally managed to free himself from the wall, only to be thrown into the other wall by the man again, and then he fell to his knees on the floor, trying to catch his breath. "This is the failure of a familiar you have summoned, daughter?" The man spoke. "I expected more of you, but alas, you fell short of our expectations again." The man then exited the room, leaving the three. "I don't know why I ever burdened myself with you." Karin spoke as Louise was crying harder. "I made the biggest mistake of my life bringing you into this world. You have never, in your entire life, lived up to what's expected of you as a Valliere." Karin turned to leave, and before she could walk out the door, Jason was already on her case.

"Hold it you bitch." Karin stopped right at the doorway with her hand creeping to her sword. "Just why in the fuck do you think you can just get away with talking down to Louise like that?" Jason was pretty pissed about the whole situation. He was up on his feet just as Karin turned around to face him. "I am her mother. It is my right to do as I see fit. And besides . . ." Karin looked over him from head to toe. ". . . I don't even think you are worthy of protecting someone like her. You look like a miserable failure as well." Jason's anger was rising quickly. He had to fight off every urge he had to kill Karin on the spot right then and there.

"It takes one to know one. Ain't I right?" Jason smarted off, and then Karin immediately pointed her sword at him. "Unless you want to die peasant, you will keep your mouth shut, because that is no way to talk to nobility." Karin then got an evil smirk on her face. "And besides, how exactly is it your business as to how I take care of someone? You obviously don't know anything about it." Jason let out a low growl as his eye glowed slightly. Karin saw that she must have hit a mark, and she continued her taunting further. "Oh, what's the matter? Are you mad because I said that? Or are you mad that you obviously don't know how to treat a noble woman, let alone protect her from any kind of threat?" And she set him off right there. Jason immediately appeared not one inch from her, quicker than the blink of an eye. He had a revolver cocked and pushed against her head in his left hand. His eye was glowing so fiercely, you could've swore you were looking directly into a lantern. Karin's eyebrows were raised, and her mouth was slightly agape. No one could ever have that amount of speed.

"Listen here you stuck up cunt. Don't you _fucking dare_ bring up anything about protecting someone." It was obvious he had some bad history here, otherwise he wouldn't have reacted this way. "When Louise summoned me here, I swore on my life to protect her till the world _fucking ends_. I swore to her that I would do anything to keep her safe. If you don't like that, I will be more than glad to rip you apart. _**Limb. From. Fucking. Limb."**_ Karin took three steps back. She had never seen any commoner this bold as to challenger her like that. "Oh? You want to put that to the test, peasant? I can guarantee a slow and painful death for you right now!" Karin shouted. She was ready to strike, but then, something she never would've expected happened.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Louise screamed at the top of her lungs. Jason and Karin both look at Louise not believing what they had just heard. Louise was angry, and boy they both could see it. "YOU HAVE DONE NOTHING BUT TREAT ME LIKE SHIT MY ENTIRE LIFE YOU BITCH! YOU'VE ALWAYS DEGRADED ME AND PUNISHED ME WHEN I DIDN'T MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS! ! YOU NEVER BOTHERED TO CARE WHEN I DID SOMETHING RIGHT! ! ! ALL YOU EVER DID, THROUGHOUT MY ENTIRE LIFE, IS BULLY ME AND PUT ME DOWN! ! ! ! AND I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU AND YOUR-YOUR," Louise was screaming at her own mother, and her husband and sisters were watching unbeknownst to the three in the room. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR FUCKING BULLSHIT! ! ! ! !" Louise was breathing heavily. She had needed to let some anger out, and that did the trick just fine. A shadow fell over her eyes as she fell to her knees and felt her strength leave her. Karin holstered her sword all while backing towards the door. Jason still has his gun pointed at Karin, and he was still half-tempted to open fire.

"Ok then," Karin looked at Jason. "You and me will take this outside in the main area. If you can win against me," She looked over to Louise who was absolutely glaring at her through tear-stained eyes. "Louise can stay here and continue her lessons. If you don't win, she comes back to us and you are relieved of your duties as her familiar." Karin walked out of the room and closed the door. Louise was sobbing on the floor and Jason was just kind of awkwardly standing there as he holstered his gun. He never would've expected Louise to have a blow up kinda like that; Language and all. He got down to her level and did what she had done to him before; He pulled her into a tight hug, to which she returned eagerly. "Louise," He whispered to her. "I want you to stay here and watch from the window. I'm about to fix this whole mess the only way I know how to." He released her as he got up and proceeded to the door. "Jason." He stopped right as he was closing the door. "Yes?"

"First, I want to watch this in person," She said as she got up and hobbled out of the room with him. As they began descending the stairway, she piped up again. "And second, if you so desire," Louise gave him a unnerving cold glare. "Do something to her worse than what you did to Guiche." Jason's evil smile went wider at that line alone. The two got to the bottom and proceeded out of the tower. Everything was already setup and ready to go. Karin had on a set of armor, and her husband and other two daughters were watching from one side. Louise hung back around one of the carriages as Jason approached. Karin decided to be arrogant, as always.

"I'm surprised you even showed you self here commoner. I was beginning to think you didn't even have the courage to do this." Jason said nothing as he stood across from Karin. Coltrane decided if this was how it was going to be, might as well show off a bit. He took off his pistol holsters, steel chest-piece of armor, and his white tank-top, and threw them to the side. Everyone now got a good look at just what was under his armor. Where the gauntlet met his shoulder did not look pretty. It looked as though the metal had dug into his skin, and was permanently joined into his person. Most of his chest and back were adorned in tattoos of the Rebel Flags. He was absolutely covered in scars, making Louise wonder even more about what he had gone through in his life.

He summoned his favorite axe, which was the one he had when he was first pulled here. His eye glowed as he felt the power flowing through him. "Karin, I will give you one chance to back down from hell on earth. If you don't want to suffer an excruciating amount of pain, you can back down now." Karin only unsheathed her sword and got into a battle ready stance. Jason only sighed at this.

"Very well then. You have effectively signed your death warrant!" Karin and Coltrane dashed at each other and clashed, thus starting the battle.

* * *

OK! Thanks for the reviews on the previous chapters guys! I hadn't even noticed they were there until now. (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)

cocoiscool - Cool! Glad you liked the story! And it seems your wish is being answered since this will become a story!

Guest - I had wanted to try and give something different than most other stories with the summons. Hopefully this will evolve more into that!

Anon - I am glad you love the story! And since this is becoming a story, your wish is also being answered!

Elveril - Like I had said, I did want something different with a summons than most other stories!

Rafal - It may seem similar because the setup was perfect. I wanted to use it so I tried to morph it into this story slightly.

Anyways, I hope all of y'all enjoyed this chapter, and I look forward to see ya in the next one!

Over-n-out,

N. Coltrane


	5. Chapter 5

Copyright Disclaimer.

Zero No Tsukaima belong's to it's respective owner/owners. The Union Loyalist and the Confederate Rebel are my OC's. Any other trademarks/copyrights belong to their respective owners.

Now, onwards into the story.

* * *

 _Osmond and Colbert looked over the book, with both sighing in frustration._

 _"I've looked through the entire library already" Colbert started. "And there's no sign of this rune anywhere. I believe this is something completely new. I'll go do some more research on this, but I don't know if anyone can know what we're dealing with it. Colbert left the drawing on Osmond's desk as he turned to leave. Osmond looked over the drawing, trying to stir any memory that he may have had._

 _And then he had it._

 _"Wait!" Colbert turned in surprise. "I've seen this before! It wasn't a rune however." Colbert rushed back over to Osmond's desk as he began a story._

 _"I remember seeing this very symbol thirty years ago. Back when I was still able to go out on the adventures I had." He looked at the drawing again. "I was about to be robbed by a rouge thief, until he had his brains blown out by a man dressed in what I guessed was a military uniform. Grey with gold buttons. I remember bringing the man to my home to save his life, but to no avail. When I looked through his belongings, there was a flag that looked just like this. Red background, White and blue crossed stripes with 13 stars." Colbert was listening very carefully. The rune seemed to match the exact description of the flag. "I had the flag folded back with the man's belongings, and sent to Tarbes to be buried. I have no idea what came of it after that though." Osmond sighed as he finished, taking long drag from his pipe._

 _"Thank you for the info, Headmaster. I shall look through what records we have from Tarbes and see if I can match anything."_

* * *

*CLASH!**CLASH!**CLASH!**CLASH!*

Sparks flew as the metal on metal fury resonates throughout the whole commons. Jason sidesteps one jab from Karin, and then stepped in and brought the axe down.

*CLANG!*

The side of Karin's spell sword met the sharpened edge of the curved axe. Karin would never say it out loud, but she was actually having trouble deflecting his attacks. He was much, much stronger, much faster, and way more agile than she anticipated. She flung the sword up, kicked off of his chest and back-flipped away to safety. Jason charged in with another series of attacks.

*CLASH!**CLASH!**CLANG!**CLASH!*

Karin was starting to struggle slightly. This man was unlike any other she has ever fought. Faster, stronger, smarter; She could go on. To her, this was the perfect combination for someone to be the best warrior.

*CLANG!**CLASH!**CLANG!**CLASH!*

She felt her own adrenaline building up, but then the attacks were soon cut short, however, leaving Karin dumbfounded.

"GAH SHIT! WHAT IN THE FUCK?"

Karin suddenly realized that the man she was fighting was no longer in front of her. She looked to her right and saw that her husband was behind it.

"My wife, I do not approve of this. I will help you finish this . . . peasant, off, and then we can be out of here." She could tell her husband was annoyed, but Karin decided to take control.

"Put him down. This is between him and me. I will not have you interfering in our spout." The Duke was not pleased. "Oh really now? Since when do you think you can call the shots? I am the head of this family, and you may be my wife, but you will follow what I say without question." Karin immediately got a cold glare as she approached the Duke. "I don't _have_ to listen to everything you say! Why do you always insist on controlling _everything_?" The duke was displeased as he dropped Jason, and came face to face with his wife. She may be the feared Heavy Wind, and she may be more powerful than he could ever hope to be, but founder be damned if she was going to defy him! "And what makes you think you can do whatever you want huh?! Let's hear it!" The duke yelled in her face. Karin was equally as angry. "I can do just about whatever I want thank you! Now let me ask you something. Why do you think you can control my life?!"

Jason watched the two argue from the sidelines as he stood up, brushing himself off. Given he was still pissed about what they did, but at the moment he was just simmering. He watched as Louise's two sisters walked away back towards the carriages while shaking their heads. Louise tapped him on his arm, and as he turned to look, a shadow flew over them. Louise looked up, and immediately realized that the familiar exhibition was going on as she saw Tabitha fly over with Sylphid. "Jason come on! We cannot be late for this!" Louise took off in the general direction of where the event was, leaving Jason alone on the field. He started to follow until someone was thrown into him, and they both hit the ground. Jason pushed whoever it was off of him, only to realize that it was Karin, and not only did she have a small bleeding gash on her cheek, she looked like she was about to breakdown crying, even if she was trying to forcefully hide it. He stood up and offered to help Karin up, but suddenly he felt something pass through his chest. He looked down and saw that there was a bronze spear sticking through where his heart would be. To Jason, it felt really weird, and it kind of tickled a little. But the only reason it felt weird was because one, he doesn't feel pain, and he had his power to thank for that, and two, he was immortal, so basically nothing could kill him, even if it tried. He looked up towards where the Duke was and noticed that in one hand he had a cane with a jeweled head that was lit up and poised at ready, and a small dagger with blood on it in the other.

"Now then," The duke spoke. "This situation is now under my control. Karin, you better not try to defy me like that again. You may be more powerful than me, but remember politically you are absolutely nothing without me. I could get rid of you at any moments notice. Do you understand?" Jason gritted his teeth slightly as she nervously nodded. He hated the duke already. But after seeing the past few moments, he realized he would have to put the duke to death as soon as possible. If not now, it would definitely be soon. "Wait, how are you not dead you damnable peasant?!" The duke created another spear and launched it as Jason, this time impaling him through his shoulder. Jason took two steps back, and while looking at these spears, just started laughing like a maniac. The duke was slowly backing up, and Karin could only watch at this man she was fighting and wonder, ' _Just what in the founders name was I fighting? Usually two spears taken like that would cripple, maybe even kill anyone, but he took it like it was nothing.'_ As soon as he stopped laughing, Jason immediately broke off the two spears, pulling the ends out of him without even flinching. The blood was pouring out of his wounds, but he didn't even seem fazed by it. Karin went wide-eyed at this with her mouth agape. No man could survive that, and the fact that Jason did astonished her.

The duke took off running scared. He was not going to fight that _thing_. He was going to retrieve Louise, and then hightail it back to the estate with his family. Founder-be-damned if he was going to wait around any longer. Jason chuckled as he helped Karin up, all while having a dark-red aura surround him.

"Karin, let me just tell ya something for the moment," She gave him a fearful look, nervous as to what he was planning. "It may not be now, but just so you know, that sum'bitch is on my fuckin' hit list. He's got me pissed off enough with what he's done. Oh, and come here," Karin was suspicious, but she came closer as instructed. Coltrane brought his left hand up to her cheek as a white light emanated from it. He pulled his hand away, and Karin felt where the cut she got from her so-called husband was, only to find there was no pain, no blood, and no cut. It was gone. "Someone like you shouldn't be abused like that ya know?" He gave her a depressed look, and she noticed it. "Maybe sometime, if things can get any better, maybe you and me can get together to discuss fighting techniques; Maybe continue from where we left off with our little spout. I do have to say I could tell that was going to be a pretty good fight until blondie butted in." Karin gave him a wary look, but agreed nonetheless. She was left standing in the open as she watched the towering man walk in the general direction that the duke took off with nothing but her own thoughts.

 _'What is he even supposed to be?'_

* * *

"And that was Tabitha the Snowy Wind!"

Louise felt sick at the moment. Her familiar was fighting with one of her parents, and not only was she going to be shamed in front of the whole school, she would be shamed in front of _the princess._ She turned to see of Jason was behind her, only he wasn't. And when Colbert called her out, she had to walk out, alone. As she stood on the stage, she nervously looked around, and decided it would be best to just get this over with.

"My n-name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. My familiar's name is Jason Lee Coltrane. He's . . ." She trailed off for a second. She glanced over towards the princess, and only found her smiling. Louise sighed. " . . He's a peasant." She closed her eyes, and waited for the laughter to come. But instead, only silence reigned. She opened her eyes, and only found everyone still staring at her. She believed that the incident with Guiche de Gramont was still fresh in everyone's minds. "He's a brute, I know, but underneath all of that I think there's more to him than what everyone thinks-" She was about to continue until she was cut off by a booming voice as her father walked onto the stage.

"Louise, you are coming with me this instant!" Duke Valliere grabbed Louise roughly as several royal guards and the princess approached him. "Duke Valliere, what is this? You dare to interrupt the exhibition?" The princess questioned him. "It's not safe for her here, especially with that _monster_ on the loose as well. I will not let me daughter stay here any longer!" He tried to pull Louise with him, but she struggled against him. As soon as she got loose from his grip, he backhanded her across the face, sending her down. "You dare to defy me as well you whore? I'll teach you not to!" He grabbed his daughter by the collar, and lifted her to his height. At first, she was focused on him, but then she turned absolutely pale as she looked past him as she heard screaming and heavy footsteps coming from behind the duke. He turned around to face whoever was coming, only to receive a hard right-hook from Jason himself.

Then the shit hit the fan. The crowd began to disperse back away from the scene, royal guards came to defend the princess, and the headmaster even came forth to watch what was happening. The duke took a tumble as Louise scrambled away from him, and then behind Jason. She hung close to him as he stood with the red aura emanating from him. The duke turned in a fit of rage and tried to swing his fist at whoever struck him, only to have his fist caught by Jason with his gauntlet. He then immediately pulled the duke's arm straight, and then broke it at the elbow with his other hand, also dislocating his shoulder at the same time. He then kicked in the duke's right knee, breaking it as well. He then swung his gauntlet down and drove his fingers into the duke's torso, grabbing him by the collar bone, and lifted him up to his height.

The princess and everyone else present could only watch in horror as the duke tried to struggle within Jason's grip. The red aura emanating from Jason was not helping calm anyone's nerves either. The headmaster stepped forth, hoping to put the whole situation to rest.

"That's enough!" His voice boomed all over, and everyone, save Jason, stopped and looked directly at him. "This whole situation has gotten out of hand. I want to put it to bed here and now." The headmaster knew he was old, but that doesn't mean he would lose his edge. "Duke Valliere, you had no right to come interrupting this exhibition, especially with the princess of all people here. You had better be ready for some consequences for what you've done." The duke then turned to Jason. "I understand you are angered at this moment, but please, simply put him down and let him be on his way. He'll have enough problems soon enough . . . Not including what you've done. . ." The headmaster muttered the last part, hoping he wouldn't anger the towering man any more than he already is. Jason gave the headmaster a quick glance, and then glanced back at the duke. "You better remember this day you sum'bitch. And let this be known, if you ever, _ever_ , lay your hands on Louise like that again . . . I will rip you apart limb by fucking limb." Jason then tossed the duke like a ragdoll down to the ground as several royal guards came to assist him. Louise still clung to him closely as Karin approached. She looked at the crowd, then at the duke, and finally Jason and Louise. She sighed. "Louise, you can stay here. And you," She gave a soft glance at Jason. "I'm sorry. For all of this. It won't happen again." Karin then turned to leave with her husband.

* * *

Fouquet had watched the whole mess go down through her telescope. She was astonished . . . and scared. That man, Jason, not only fought Karin the Heavy Wind without breaking a sweat, but he also came close to murdering one of the most influential people in Tristain without as such as batting an eye. This man, or powerful being as Henry referred to him as, seemed unstoppable. He showed no fear in taking on Karin, which is one feat in it'self. Facing Karin took guts, determination, and either you had to be extremely cocky or extremely stupid to do such a thing. And then trying to kill an influential man that holds quite a bit of power in the government, that was something else in it'self as well.

Fouquet had known about Louise's familiar since he was first summoned. He had looked tough, but he had nothing to show for it, save for the two dead healers, and then the incident with General Grammont's son. When she met with Wardes and met Henry for the first time, and he told her about Jason and the things he had done, she didn't want to believe him. But now, she can believe all of it; everything he said was true. What Henry had said about him being a heartless monster who knows no fear, what he said about him being a truly cold killer, and the _massacres_ ; She could believe it all.

But, in addition to her fear, she yet found herself curious and confused as to how exactly the Rebel became what he was. She would find out for herself eventually.

* * *

Jason sighed as he scratched the back of his head. This whole day, to him at least, basically was just fucked up. All he wanted now was an extra strong bottle of whiskey and some relaxation so he could drink his problems away. He watched as the crowd of students began to disperse back to their dorms after Tabitha won the award for the whole exhibition. Louise was talking with the princess somewhere close by. Jason decided he was going to go find himself some kind of strong alcohol, but the whole scene was interrupted by a towering golem punching the tower.

"Founder, a golem!" "Protect the princess at all costs!" "How are we even going to fight _that_?"

The guards voice rang through the courtyard as the towering construct paused and a figure ran inside the tower, and then returning with a box. Jason's blank expression gave no idea as to what he was thinking in that precise moment. Not wanting to put up with anymore bullshit for the day, he sighed as he summoned an RPG-7. Everyone became startled and confused even more as he aimed the rocket launcher with his single armed gauntlet at the golem, and fired off the only RPG he had left. The golem was just starting to turn and leave as the rocket struck, completely destroying the golem in the process. The figure fell down with the rest of the rubble as it collapsed to the ground. Louise watched with a mix of curiosity, fear, and confusion. The princess simply stood by, glancing at this towering man who honestly didn't seem to give a rats ass about what he just did nor what was even happening. Whenever the guards began running towards where the ruined golem had fallen, Louise decided to speak up.

"J-Jason . . Did y-you just destr-"

"Yes, yes I did Louise." Jason said, cutting her off mid-sentence as he started walking back towards the void tower.

Well, she didn't expect an answer that quick, that's for sure. She decided to simply follow him back to her dorm to get some rest. It had been quite a day. She started walking behind him until he turned to her.

"I'm going to go and see if I can find some good liquor. I'll meet you back at your room." Louise only nodded and proceeded into the tower, eventually making her way up to her room. After she entered, she laid down on the bed looking out over the courtyard. She was astonished that her father acted the way he did. Calling her a whore was nothing new, but the physical abuse? That was new. And then her mother apologizing; That was _completely_ unexpected. Karin never apologized for anything, so to see that she apologized not not only herself, but to Jason as well. That was completely out of the ordinary.

But, there was also, and she can't believe she didn't even think about this until now, there was what Jason _did_ to her father. Breaking his arm, and his knee, AND dislocating his shoulder, all in one go she might add, and then giving him other various injuries; She did not know how to feel. On one hand, she was horrified by it, especially since Jason did it naturally, and did it with a smile. On the other hand, however, she found a small kind of _satisfaction._ She did not know how to feel about it. Satisfaction from watching someone get hurt? She was by far no sadistic dom-type, and she definitely did not enjoy watching these things, but watching Jason operate the way he did, the incident with Guiche, and then her father, she started taking it as a normal, and she felt horrified that she was even considering it normal to begin with.

She contemplated everything that went on, and was completely unaware of Jason entering the room until she turned around, startling herself a bit. Jason was a bit tipsy already as he stumbled over to the table, once again propping his feet up. He took big swigs as he simply sat there. His face looked as though his mind was elsewhere. Louise only sat on the bed and intently watched him, though Jason seemed to not notice her at all. She was about to speak up until there was a knock at the door. Jason immediately rolled himself over the table, drawing his revolver, and positioned himself so that he would be behind the door when it opened up.

"Oh come on. What's with this now?" Louise simply facepalmed at the sight.

"I'm not *hic* taking any chances, especially after that spout in here with your *hic* mother." Jason reached for the door, and slightly opened it, cocking and aiming the revolver towards the edge. The door was suddenly forced open, and in one swift motion, Jason grabbed the intruder with his gauntlet, threw them against the table, and then slammed the door abruptly. Louise retrieved her wand and aimed it at the intruder, who was covered completely in a cloak. Jason, with his gun still pointed at the intruder, knelt down and put the barrel under the cloak towards the head of whoever was under there.

"You better start talking, and fast, before I get an urge to shoot first and then ask questions." Louise motioned for him to stand back, and so he did somewhat, though he still had his Colt revolver aimed at the person on the floor. Louise walked over as the cloaked figure stood themself up.

"Who are you?" Louise spoke up. She hadn't realized who the cloaked figure was until-

"It has been a while, hasn't it? Louise Françoise!" The figure removed the cloak and flung herself on to Louise, revealing herself at the Princess. Louise immediately start blushing has Jason only sighed and holstered his revolver. "Oh joy. Here we *hic* fucking go." Jason muttered as he propped himself back at the table, resuming his drink.

"Your highness!" Louise nearly shouted as she pried the Princess off of her and immediately knelt before her. "You shouldn't come to such a humble abode by yourself." The princess only chucked at this. "Stop with all these formalities, Louise Françoise. We are friends, are we not?" Louise only starting blushing even more. "Princess, those words are too much for me." The Princess started to cry slightly. "Louise, I've wanted to see you for so long. Ever since father passed away, I've had no one that I could open my heart to." Louise stood and took the princesses hands. "Princess, when i received your letter, I was shocked out of my mind." That caught Jason's attention only slightly, and thus he decided to be a smart ass. "So that's what you *hic* wanted then. You wanted me to show off in front *hic of a damn crowd like a circus dog so you cou- *hic* could look good in front of your girlfriend." He didn't even look at them when he said it, and thus he didn't even see that Louise turned completely red, and whacked him across the back of the head with the horse whip she had been hiding.

"Why are you sitting there like an idiot in front of the Princess?! And your drunk too! Have you no shame whatsoever?!" The Princess only grinned at this. "It is well. Be at ease, Mister Familiar." Jason got slightly peeved. "Don't tempt me. I can still draw this gun and start shooting at you ya know." He only got another whack to the back of the head with the Princess in slight shock. "Please forgive him," Louise started. "He has truly no manners, and in all honesty is just a brute."

"So much that he stands up against Count Mott." Louise froze in fear. If the princess knew about that, then she knew there was going to be trouble. The princess turned back to Jason. "I've actually been wanting to see you. I wanted to see what kind of man the familiar that stood up to a nobleman was. I will admit, it would have helped if he was still alive, but no matter now." Louise was instantly confused. "Princess?" The princess once again only smiled at Louise. "It caused quite a bit of stir in the palace, but rest assured there will be no punishment." Louise was in shock. "Then, Princess, you-" She was cut off. "Did you forget? I promised you long ago that I would help you if you ever got caught in a bind. I am only a princess for now though." Louise did not know what to say. "Princess . .. " She then immediately bowed, taking it to an extreme. "There is no way I can ever thank you for this!" The princess only chuckled. "I told you already. Don't worry about it." They both made their way over to the door to say their goodbyes.

"This was the most fun I've had in a few years, Louise. It was so nice to see you again. Thank you very much." The princess pulled Louise into a hug. "The same goes for me as well, your highness." Louise responded. The two remained like that until Jason shoved past them saying he was going to go find more liquor. Louise only sighed at this. "Take care princess." The princess pulled the hood on her cloak back over. "You do the same, Louise Françoise." She then immediately took off. Louise returned to her room and began preparing for bed. As soon as she pulled herself under the covers, Jason stumbled through the door with close to four bottles of rum. Louise turned herself towards the window with her back to Jason, knowing this was probably going to be a long night with him drinking.

* * *

OK! Fifth chapter finally done! I'm sorry for sporadically writing these, but that's just how it's gonna have to be. I get writers block constantly, so getting a chapter pumped out can be difficult at times. Anyways, I hope y'all enjoy this one!

N. Coltrane


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